Orbital Sciences Cites Weather in Launch Delay to April 20

April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Orbital Sciences Corp. is pushing
back the test launch of its Antares unmanned rocket until at
least April 20.

The company, based in Dulles, Virginia, had planned to
launch tomorrow from the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern
Shore. It’s delaying because weather conditions are expected to
deteriorate, Orbital said in a Twitter posting.

The new launch attempt will be no earlier than 5 p.m.
Washington time April 20, the company said.

Orbital yesterday called off the rocket’s maiden flight
about 12 minutes before the scheduled liftoff after a cable
disconnected prematurely.

The data link disconnected early because of a combination
of too little slack in the cable and “slight hydraulic
movement” by launch equipment, according to an e-mailed
statement today from Barry Beneski, an Orbital spokesman.

Beneski didn’t return a phone message seeking details.

“The good news is that this is a simple adjustment to the
external support systems,” Frank Culbertson, an Orbital
executive vice president, said in the statement.

Cargo Delivery

The Antares test launch from Wallops would be a key
milestone in the company’s plan to begin regular cargo
deliveries to the International Space Station as early as
September.

The test launch involves delivering a simulated version of
the Cygnus unmanned supply ship to orbit. The replica won’t
connect with the station.

The issue that prevented yesterday’s launch was
“absolutely a trivial issue,” James Oberg, a former engineer
for the space shuttle program, said in a phone interview. “It’s
simple to fix. It’s the kind of thing that happens with new
launch pads and new rockets.”

Orbital is trying to match the success of billionaire Elon
Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., which last May
became the first company to dock a commercial craft at the
station.

Orbital has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA for eight
cargo resupply flights to the space station.